The Westminster Schools
Odyssey at the Westminster Schools
Odyssey is a six-week summer program held at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, GA. Serving over 300 students in grades 2-12, the program aims to help Atlanta public school students with unmet potential, from disadvantaged communities, usually falling in the middle third of their class. The intense academic program enhances the strengths of students both in and out of the classroom, preparing them not only for their next year in school, but also for high school graduation and college. Students from Westminster volunteer in the summer school, assisting teachers, running activities and assisting with administrative work. Odyssey’s mission is to make a measurable impact on the academic achievement, career aspirations, and lives of its students.
The Center for Teaching
The Center for Teaching, an endeavor between The Westminster Schools and Drew Charter School, is devoted to helping teachers improve their understanding of the craft of teaching through programs and resources which facilitate their learning. The Center pursues partnerships and programs designed to identify best practices in education, recruit and retain excellent educators for the Center and member schools, and build on each school’s excellence. The programs at the Center provide professional development opportunities and teacher training to educators at all levels of experience. Program initiatives include, but are not limited to:
- Curriculum development and identification of best practices in all grade levels and disciplines
- Mentoring and training for faculty new to the profession
- Year-round workshops, conferences, and seminars to promote professional development and to provide opportunities for faculty to interact with national thought-leaders in education
- Collaboration between faculty from public and independent schools designed to exchange information about best practices in teaching
- Teacher exchanges between public and independent schools.
Most recently, The Center for Teaching coordinated the Atlanta K-12 Design Challenge. You can read about it here.